Spiel des Jahres Nominees 2016

Time for a drumroll…………. the 2016 Spiel des Jahres Nominees list has been released! And it looks like there are some good ones on the list.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Spiel des Jahres, the German game award is chosen by a panel of game reviewers and game experts (and wouldn’t you just LOVE to be on this panel!). There are 3 different awards.… Spiel des Jahres– Game of the Year, Kennerspiel des Jahres– Expert or Game Connoisseur Game of the Year, and Kinderspiel des Jahres– Childrens game of the year.

Spiel des Jahres games are chosen by those in the gaming industry as well as game reviewers based on four criterion; game concept (originality and playability), rule structure (composition and clarity), layout (box and board), and design (workmanship and functionality).

The winners of this prestigious will be announced in June/July. There is no prize money, but the Spiel des Jahres symbol on the game box means an astronomical bump in sales. (Which means a hit to my bank account… )

2016 Spiel des Jahres Nominees-

Spiel des Jahres 2016

This year’s award nominees are –

Codenames-by Vlaada Chvátil   – Codenames is a social word game that works well for parties. Everyone tries to “connect” with spies, and figure out who belongs to which team by exchanging one word clues.

Karuba by Rüdiger Dorn -Karuba is a jungle island with 4 Temples… you must navigate through the dense jungle, take risks, plan strategy, and beat your opponants to the Temple Treasures

Imhotep by Peter Walker-Harding  – In this game you are Imhotep, master builder of Egypt. Using strategy and little wooden blocks, you work to build your own pyramid. Currently this game is only available in Germany. You can try ordering through Amazon.de

CodenamesKaruba

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Kinderspiel des Jahres 2016

This year’s nominees are-

Leo Muss Zum Friseur (Leo needs to go to the Barber) by Leo Colovini – Help Leo get to the Barber before the sun goes down. As he travels through the jungle, he’s distracted by friends.

Mmm! Brains by Reiner Knizia -This Zombie Dice game is played in two rounds… first you try to gather as many brains as you can (they are small, rubber brains, about the size of a pea. Then in the next round you try to make your opponent drop their brains. Last person with brains, wins.

My First Stone Age by Marco Teubner – The children’s version of the Stone Age game is a great introductory strategy game involving collecting goods and building a settlement.

Reiner Knizia’s Mmm…Brains!My First Stone Age Board Game

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Kennerspiel des Jahres 2016

The nominees for 2016 are-

Isle of Skye by Alexander Pfister and Andreas Pelikan- Isle of Skye is a tile laying game, where tiles can be bought or sold. Not all tiles are scored. Winner is the player with the best kingdom. The description calls it a gateway game, which seems odd, since Kennerspiel is supposed to be a prize for more complex games.

Pandemic Legacy – Season 1 by Matt Leacock and Rob Daviau -Great news for Pandemic fans, the series just keeps getting better. In Pandemic Legacy, Season 1, you and your team must work together to keep 4 diseases at bay for a year. Every month there are new challenges, and how you face them affects the rest of the game.

T.I.M.E Stories by Manuel Rozoy – TIME Stories is a time travel card game with an interesting twist. The game contains one scenario that sends you and your companions back in time to solve puzzles with only a few word or picture clues within a certain amount of time. If you fail, you start over. Since there is only one scenario… once it’s played… you know the answer. Expansions are available with new scenarios. Beautiful artwork, and those who’ve played say it’s worth the cost.

Pandemic Legacy Red Board GameIsle of Skye Board GameTime Stories Board Game

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Looks like another great year for games!

Looking for Previous Spiel des Jahres Winners?

There are a lot of great games here…

Camel Up Board Game by Pegasus SpieleColt Express Board GameKingdom BuilderHanabi Card GameThurn und Taxis. Spiel des Jahres 2006Dixit (International Rules Version)Sagaland. Spiel des Jahres 1982Ravensburger 27223 – Bluff – Spiel des Jahres 1993 by RavensburgerDominionTicket To RideElfenland Neu Board Game

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How many of these games have you played? What looks good to you?